Something 4 The Weekend # 203

The Damned: Damned Damned Damned: "Fan Club" [mp3]

I must admit, I'm one of those pedantic assholes who thinks and cares about genres and labels when it comes to music, although in my own defense, this has become less of a personality defect as I get older. In general, among many so-called music aficionados, the question of "What is Punk?" remains a rather crucial and contested topic of debate, and then of course, the question of who was the first Punk band and which was the first Punk record. Typically this argument boils down to The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Damned, and their respective debut albums.

Attitudes aside, for me The Ramones were a Bubblegum Pop band with distortion pedals, The Sex Pistols were a Fucking Metal band, and The Damned...Well, I was never sure exactly what The Damned were, and where they fit in this puzzle, and all these years later, I'm still not sure, so I've copped out and simply called them Rock'n'Roll. Apparently the band themselves agrees, as I recently read a short interview with The Damned's drummer, Rat Scabies, who said he hated the "punk" label, and from the very start wanted to go back to his real name, Chris Millar, and grow his hair long, as was the typical Rock fashion of the pre-punk/post-hippie early '70s.

Labels aside, I never cared all that much about the Ramones' self-titled debut, and as much as I loved the Never Mind The Bollocks album (and still kinda do), in the end, The Damned's debut album, Damned Damned Damned eventually emerged as my favorite of the bunch, and the one I love the most of those three vanguard Punk albums. It's fiery, funny and simply more musical than the other two. A great Rock'n'Roll album.

Hotcha! Hank